Trying to sell a 'niche' property. Any advice?

[Willowcat77]

I'm trying to sell my house which is a pretty suburban Victorian terrace with an unusual amount of land - I bought the land (about one third of an acre) after I bought the house, about 18 years ago. I've planted loads of lovely fruit trees and it's useful for parking and having outbuilding etc.

I've only had 6 viewers in 6 weeks. People are shocked when they see the size of the garden. I had One good offer which was was withdrawn because she decided the garden was too big. Now viewings have totally dried up...

I'm worried the house might be over-priced for the area but the estate agent says no - she said it's a 'niche' property because of the land and also because it's an unusually well-preserved period house in an area of mostly bland 1940's ex-council properties. So there is nothing you can really compare it to in the area.

Here's the rightmove link:
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-54765498.htmll_

So I don't know what to do. Not sure if reducing the price will help if people are scared the amount of land. Somebody mentioned selling it in an auction to attract builders but I can't afford for it to go at a really low price. Any suggestions?

Looking at what has sold previously, it looks as though your house is considerably overpriced. Agents are competingng for sales and often overprice to get the instruction. I haven't looked in detail,but your terraced house is on for 165 but a semi sold for 148.
Here in London, the market s very slow?

If the EA says the plot has development potential, then that should be quantified. No-one is going to pay lots of extra money on a whim and it has not attracted a developer. If you got PP, then purchasers could see what was possible. If its development potential and no-one has even gone near the planning department to see if it meets policies for the area, or what size of dwelling could be built, then that's a bit of misleading description a no-one will buy it on that basis, STPP or not. It could be money down the drain for the purchaser if they cannot get PP. Therefore you should explore that.

The plans of the property should show the garden and exactly what could be hived off with PP. What is a plot worth with PP over one without? Around here, a vast amount of difference. Have you investigated how much a plot is worth PP is worth near you?

The "own allotment" scope of the property should be emphasised. So many people now love this idea of growing your own. Also the parking is valuable. Again a decent plan is needed. The space neat the house could also be advertised as a possibilty of extending into the garden and even building a garden room in the larger part. What inventive use could be made of the outbuildings? Work from home or a hobby room maybe? Or even try and get multi generations to look at it who might want a self contained granny annexe in the garden space with the road access.

I do agree that it's overpriced. I think the agent probably wrongly assumed you were in England. There is a pretty significant discount with being in Wales.

Great house. As others have said, I'd make the rooms look more spacious by removing the armchair by the fireplace. 2 x 2 seater sofas are plenty while selling. I like the kitchen units, but perhaps upgrade the light on the ceiling and lose the border in favour of some farrow&ball paint to the wall.
The dining room could look bigger if declutted and there's quite a lot of warm wood in there which you could neutralise with a large but cheap ikea rug. Many buyers might want to update the bathroom, but I guess the price reflects that in your area (can't buy a studio in my area for this money).
This house and garden is so great that the right person will come along OP. I'd put a swimmimg pool in there 😊

I agree you need to find out exactly what could be done with the land re PP, workshop, annex etc.

To be honest, its not vast rolling acres anyway ,- a third of an acre is approx 5 tennis courts, so it's too small for a horse (unless you have another paddock to allow it to recover). I understand it won't appeal to people who want a small, manageable garden, but it would be perfect for people who want more land, but can't necessarily afford the larger, more expensive houses that have that

suited A third of an acre is just enough for one horse. Obviously the horse will need to be fed purchased hay. Good quality hay is easily available in that area at about £2 a bale. Riding paths are easily accessible from that location which will help reduce the wear and tear on the ground. It looks like it has good drainage from the pictures too.

Sell the land to developers as is - or get planning permission to build something and then sell w uplifted value. (I am a developer - if I wasn't already involved in other projects would have def peaked my interest).

Put the house for sale separately, reducing price to make up for loss of the land. Overall it will net you a lot more than selling it as one.

Not quite sure with you saying the pricing is tricky due to the building potential? I think in that price bracket and considering property prices close by most people looking in that price bracket want something that needs little work doing, especially internally. Also when people plan to extend I expect they may need between 12ft and 20ft, but of course I stand corrected. At the end of the day it is a terrace and possibly if people had the money to extend I think they would opt for a semi or detached.
I have recently sold and I had a huge private garden, whilst many prospective purchasers admired it, equally it put many off as it would take too much to maintain.
You either accept you have to reduce, put offers in the region of for instance, or hold out for the right buyer. It all depends how eager you are to move.

Other thing that occurs is, if you’re going to take a price cut, it may be worth trying the auction once you’ve redone photos and spruced it up, if you are looking to sell for £150k worst case then you don’t have a lot to lose setting that reserve and could be luckier.

I’d get more agents round and follow up on issues raised here first though

I don’t know but from too much time on homes under the hammer, if you can give the building potential any legs, auction lift to be your market?

Another viewer and an offer in six weeks isn't bad you know. Sure they aren't flocking through the door, but it could be slow in your area...

Not sure I've seen a house divide the crowd so much!

Half thinking it's over priced for the area, needs a little declutter/tlc, and the other half thinking it's stunning and they'd love it. I think that's probably really positive in terms of feedback if thr viewers feel the same.

bluntness People familiar with the area are saying it's priced too high. Personally I'd drop it to £150k or sell without the extra land.

I'm familiar with the are and don't think it is overpriced. OP would need to drop it to about £145K, which is ridiculous.
The land is exceptional but the EA is not marketing it properly.

It's a beautiful house, and if I was looking in your area I'd buy it in a heartbeat, the land would be a huge plus for me!
Declutter and make the decor as bland as possible. So many people love bland and can't see past the house "as is" these days. A lot of our friends are buying first homes (DH and I on 4th purchase) and a few of them have turned down houses because they don't like the wallpaper

In that immediate area there are currently bigger homes which are semi detached with driveway etc on the market for £145-165k depending on size and condition.

Big garden is nice but the other places for sale also have some nice gardens. You have tough competition from this 3 bed semi on a corner lot with a lovely kitchen for £150k which is in England, not Wales.

If u were 200 miles further south I would buy it in a heartbeat!!

I think that's what I mean. It's divided opinion.

I can only look at what has sold in recent months near by and what is for sale and it would look like thr price of this is about 30k above the market value. So would normally sell for about 135-140.

So someone is being asked to pay 25-30k extra for the garden. Some one may very well happily do so, based on the reaction on this thread.

Some one may very well happily do so, based on the reaction on this thread.
I would! It's so hard (impossible where we live) to get anywhere with >1/4 acre attached to a cheaper house (eg terrace), so that it would be affordable. That one's right near shops etc. It's my ideal house! I'd far rather have it than the semi with an average garden - they're easy to find. But sadly we're tied to being near my last DC's school at the moment... and yet I keep being drawn back to this thread to dream.

Yes gardens are a marmite thing, but some people would love fruit trees and a veg patch but don’t have a country house budget. FWIW I like the decor too, but it’s always good to have less personal stuff so people can mentally move in